Why Kindness?

With the help of a broken film camera, an eccentric repairman (Beau Bridges) helps a boy who cannot speak (Miguel Gabriel) find his voice through photography, forming an unlikely friendship. Camera is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Miguel Gabriel has been captivating audiences since he began his career in theater at the tender age of five. After a series of successful appearances in popular shows like "How to Get Away with Murder" and lending his voice to animated films like "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," Miguel has made an exciting leap into his first feature film, "Camera." In this pivotal role as Oscar, he stars alongside Hollywood royalty, Beau Bridges, marking a significant milestone in his acting journey. Beyond his acting talents, Miguel is a passionate film enthusiast.

For over 35 years, Jay Silverman has excelled as a leading Director, Producer, and Photographer specializing in award-winning films, television, digital, and print campaigns; having worked with renowned celebrities such as Denzel Washington, Beyonce, Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Foxx, and Ray Charles.

Some of his early directorial work was for the original launches of the smash hit TV series "American Idol", "Desperate Housewives", "NYPD Blue", "The Drew Carey Show", and many more. Jay Co-Created and Executive Produced "The Cleaner", an hour-long drama for Paramount Pictures, which aired on A & E. Additionally, he produced and directed 40 episodes of "One on One" for TV One featuring many stars like Beyonce, Denzel Washington, Usher, Jamie Foxx, and Terrence Howard. Jay also produced and directed a one-hour special titled "Inside the Rings with Troy Aikman" airing on Fox before the 2011 Super Bowl to much success.

This podcast is one of the many ways we live out our organization's mission to educate and inspire people to choose kindness. Visit our site kindness.org and sign up to become a part of our global community which spans more than 100 countries. It's free to join and when you do you'll be the first to get access to our latest research, tools, and even episodes of this podcast. Let's build a kinder world, together. Contact us at [email protected] or on social at @kindnessorg. Do you know your KQ? Visit kindness.org/KQ to get your KQ today!

Important links from this week's episode:
kindness.org
jaysilvermanproductions.com
linktr.ee/camerathemovie

Follow on Social

IG: @camerathemovie, @silverman_jay, @officialmiguelgabriel

Credits

• Host: Jaclyn Lindsey
• Guest: Jay Silverman & Miguel Gabriel
• Producer: Melissa Malone
• Music Composition: Chris Christiana
• Design: Ben Gibson, Christine Do, Smithfield Studio

Transcript available at this link. https://why-kindness.simplecast.com/episodes/camera/transcript

Recording artist Stephanie Quayle joins Jaclyn this week to discuss the importance of self-reflection, owning your narrative, and how kindness has shown up in the most unexpected places.

Trigger warning. This interview discusses a specific person's experience with suicidal thoughts, death, and trauma.

Stephanie Quayle is a Nashville recording artist who tours the world with her music and an entrepreneur with her own record label, Big Sky Music Group. Rolling Stone Country called her “an artist you need to know,” CMT named her as part of its “Next Women of Country” franchise, and she’s appeared on popular programs like The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. As an independent artist with two Billboard charted singles, “Selfish” and “Whatcha Drinkin ’Bout,” she has repeatedly performed at CMA Fest and the Grand Ole Opry. The Montana native has teamed up with recognizable brands like Wrangler, Harley-Davidson, Bass Pro Shops, Montana Silversmiths, as well as Lucchese Bootmaker in the creation of her exclusive boot line. Quayle’s latest album On the Edge chronicles her personal experience in a toxic relationship and the healing she’s gone through since—inspiring others and redefining her future. Stephanie is the author of the new book, Why Do We Stay? How My Toxic Relationship Can Help You Find Healing, releasing April 30, 2024.

This podcast is one of the many ways we live out our organization's mission to educate and inspire people to choose kindness. Visit our site kindness.org and sign up to become a part of our global community which spans more than 100 countries. It's free to join and when you do you'll be the first to get access to our latest research, tools, and even episodes of this podcast. Let's build a kinder world, together. Contact us at [email protected] or on social at @kindnessorg.

Important links from this week's episode:
kindness.org
stephaniequayle.com
Buy the book: barnesandnoble.com/w/why-do-we-stay-stephanie-quayle/1143726766

Follow Stephanie

• IG: @StephanieQuayle
• Facebook: @stephaniequayle
• X: @StephanieQuayle
• TikTok: @stephaniequayle

Credits

• Host: Jaclyn Lindsey
• Guest: Stephanie Quayle
• Producer: Melissa Malone
• Music Composition: Chris Christiana
• Design: Ben Gibson, Christine Do, Smithfield Studio

Transcript available at this link.

In this episode, Uri Yudewitz steps into the studio to discuss the importance of finding commonalities in communities, how kindness shows up in his career, and why being a connector of people is necessary to bridge divides.

Uri Yudewitz serves as the Vice President of Business Development for CH Group, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. With a dynamic background in strategic partnerships, market expansion, and revenue growth, Uri plays a pivotal role in driving the company's success and fostering key relationships, bridging the gap between Western business and Islamic culture.

In his capacity, Uri spearheads initiatives to identify new business opportunities, forge strategic alliances, and cultivate partnerships. His keen understanding of market dynamics and consumer behavior allows him to develop innovative strategies that align with CH Group's overarching goals and objectives, including in each of CH Group’s focus areas (distribution, partnership, financing, certification and non-profit endeavors).

This podcast is one of the many ways we live out our organization's mission to educate and inspire people to choose kindness. Visit our site kindness.org and sign up to become a part of our global community which spans more than 100 countries. It's free to join and when you do you'll be the first to get access to our latest research, tools, and even episodes of this podcast. Let's build a kinder world, together. Contact us at [email protected] or on social at @kindnessorg.

Important links from this week's episode:
kindness.org

Credits

• Host: Jaclyn Lindsey
• Guest: Uri Yudewitz
• Producer: Melissa Malone
• Music Composition: Chris Christiana
• Design: Ben Gibson, Christine Do, Smithfield Studio

Transcript available at this link. https://why-kindness.simplecast.com/episodes/david-kirschner/transcript

Just in time for spooky season, Jaclyn speaks to writer/producer David Kirschner (Hocus Pocus, Child's Play) about kindness in his life, his fascination with family & fantasy stories, and how the kindness of others propelled his career.

David Kirschner's imagination has spawned a body of work that has evoked laughter, fear, suspense, and heartfelt emotion for over 40 years. It was 1975 when the legendary Neil Diamond laid eyes on 19-year-old David's illustrations. From here, David would photograph, and design twenty-two album covers, including the Grammy-nominated for design, The Jazz Singer. Soon after, David's talents were enlisted by famed creator, Jim Henson, for work on Sesame Street and The Muppets. Next, David harkened the voice of his creative entrepreneurial spirit, creating a fantasy garden world, Rose-Petal Place. Inspired by his daughters, Rose-Petal Place quickly blossomed into a book series, toys, apparel, television specials, and a float in the Macys Day Parade.

This success brought David to the attention of Steven Spielberg. Backed by Steven's company, David created and produced the Oscar-nominated and two-time Grammy-winning, An American Tail, which spawned a theatrical sequel, and television series. It wouldn't be long before David struck again, but this time it was the fear of his sister's dolls that would soon become the horror icon, Chucky, in Child's Play. Chucky has prospered in 7 films, and the Chucky VT series is in its third year with an average score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. David ran Hanna Barbera Studios as President and Chairman for four years, where he led the resurgence of the venerable animation house. During his reign, David co-wrote and produced the two-time Emmy nominated live action, The Dreamer of Oz, with legendary writer, Richard Matheson, and produced the live-action feature The Flintstones. David's book, The Pagemaster was translated into fourteen languages around the world and became a film starring Macaulay Culkin. David produced for Disney, based on his story, the film Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2, Hocus Pocus 3 is in pre-production.

His other projects include; Frailty, Cats Don't Dance, animated feature Titan A.E, Secondhand Lions, Miss Potter, and Martian Child, David also collaborated with Ron Howard to produce Curious George. He continues today as Executive Producer on the multi-Emmy-winning Curious George PBS daytime series. Ron Howard has been signed to direct a live-action Curious George, that David will produce with Imagine Entertainment. David has continued to honor his commitment to children and society with dedicated positions, Ambassador to The University of Southern California School of Cinema, Trustee of the Board of Crossroads School, Board of Directors for Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, and Board Member of The Center for Early Education.

This podcast is one of the many ways we live out our organization's mission to educate and inspire people to choose kindness. Visit our site kindness.org and sign up to become a part of our global community which spans more than 100 countries. It's free to join and when you do you'll be the first to get access to our latest research, tools, and even episodes of this podcast. Let's build a kinder world, together. Contact us at [email protected] or on social at @kindnessorg.

Important links from this week's episode:
kindness.org

Credits

• Host: Jaclyn Lindsey
• Guest: David Kirschner
• Producer: Melissa Malone
• Music Composition: Chris Christiana
• Design: Ben Gibson, Christine Do, Smithfield Studio

Transcript available at this link. https://why-kindness.simplecast.com/episodes/david-kirschner/transcript

Matt Mullenweg joins Jaclyn in the virtual studio to discuss the significance of kindness in his company, how his passion for music influenced his career, and the connection between open source and kindness.

Matt Mullenweg is co-founder of the open-source publishing platform WordPress, which now powers 43% of all sites on the web. He is the founder and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, WordPress VIP, Day One, and Pocket Casts. Additionally, Matt runs Audrey Capital, an investment and research company. He has been recognized for his leadership by Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Inc. Magazine, TechCrunch, Fortune, Fast Company, Wired, University Philosophical Society, and Vanity Fair. Matt is originally from Houston, Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied jazz saxophone. In his spare time, Matt is an avid photographer. He currently splits his time between Houston and San Francisco.

This podcast is one of the many ways we live out our organization's mission to educate and inspire people to choose kindness. Visit our site kindness.org and sign up to become a part of our global community which spans more than 100 countries. It's free to join and when you do you'll be the first to get access to our latest research, tools, and even episodes of this podcast. Let's build a kinder world, together. Contact us at [email protected] or on social at @kindnessorg.

Important links from this week's episode:
kindness.org
automattic.com

Follow Matt & Automattic

• IG: @photomatt
• Facebook: @automatticInc
• X: automattic

Credits

• Host: Jaclyn Lindsey
• Guest: Matt Mullenweg
• Producer: Melissa Malone
• Music Composition: Chris Christiana
• Design: Ben Gibson, Christine Do, Smithfield Studio

Transcript available at this link.